$5.5 million cut from Iowa City schools budget next year

IOWA CITY — Delaying curriculum purchases, adjusting a model used to control class sizes and reducing staff through attrition are just a few ways the Iowa City Community School District is reducing next year’s budget by $5.5 million.

The Iowa City school board approved millions in budget cuts Tuesday — including closing an elementary school — all recommendations to achieve the district’s general fund reduction.

School leaders say the cuts are necessary to make ends meet after decades of the state underfunding public schools, declining enrollment and the implementation of private school tuition assistance this year. About 60 Iowa City public school students used new Education Savings Accounts — created by the Iowa Legislature last year — to attend private school this year.

School board President Ruthina Malone said this is the third round of major budget cuts she has voted on since beginning her tenure on the board in 2017. She “prays” it will be her last, she said.

"Times are going to be tough,“ Malone said. ”To the admin, I’m sorry you will be asked to do more with little extra. To the teachers, you are the backbone of our team here. We ask you to please stand with us knowing that we are trying to support you. I know it’s hard to have 32 kids in an art room. But we are trying to protect your positions.“

Like many school districts in Iowa, Iowa City schools has faced declining enrollment since the pandemic began in spring 2020. During the 2019-2020 school year, the district had an enrollment of about 14,500 students. This dropped to 14,200 students during the 2020-21 school year, and rebounded to 14,440 students this year.

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J.P. Claussen, school board vice president, said the Iowa City school district was “protected” from declining enrollment for a long time — growing by 100 to 300 students a year.

Under the state’s per-pupil funding formula, growing enrollment creates more revenue for school districts.

But the school district’s budget is “really tight,” with 86 percent of every dollar spent on staff salaries and benefits. Another large expense is the “fixed cost” of utilities, Claussen said.

The “story of Iowa is that we lose students,” Claussen said. Right now in Iowa City, the “growth is gone.”

“This is a direct result of the governor and legislators’ decisions to take your tax dollars and divert them away from public schools,” school board member Lisa Williams said before voting in favor of closing Hills Elementary School Tuesday — a cost savings of $1.66 million for the school district.

“Nobody wants to fire teachers, increase class sizes, reduce busing or eliminate programming, but these are our only options if the legislature continues to divert our much-needed resources to private schools,” Williams said. “This is not a partisan issue. This is an Iowan issue. It’s only going to get worse if we do not hold Des Moines accountable.”

Under the state’s education savings account program, K-12 students can apply for taxpayer-funded scholarships equal to the state’s per-pupil public education funding, which in the current school year is $7,598. Public school districts receive about $1,200 in state funding for each student in their district who receives a private school scholarship. That money is intended to help offset loss of state funding from a student leaving the district.

School board members also spoke adamantly about the importance of maintaining the district’s Weighted Resource Allocation Model — which is used to control class sizes based on rates of students who face barriers in their education.

The district is making adjustments to the model under the budget cuts — reducing seven full time educators through attrition, a cost savings of $630,000. But the budget cuts allow for the integrity of the model to be kept, school board members said.

School board members said they felt like making decisions like closing Hills Elementary helps the district preserve aspects of teaching and learning like the Weighted Resource Allocation Model that is critical to student success.

The model moves test scores in the “right direction,” a hard thing to achieve, Claussen said.

The model “provides better class sizes for our most marginalized students,” school board member Mitch Lingo said.

Other cost-saving measures approved by the board Tuesday include:

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